South Australia: Results from the phonics check trial

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Debbie_Hepplewhite
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South Australia: Results from the phonics check trial

Post by Debbie_Hepplewhite »

Here are some results from a trial of a phonics screening check in South Australia. Please note that where the article refers to the 'UK' test, it is only in England that a statutory national phonics screening check takes place near the end of Year One when children will have experienced nearly two years of planned phonics teaching.

Also, the statistics are not accurate for England's check. A pilot was run in England in 2011 when the results were 32% of children reached or exceeded the benchmark of 32 out of 40 words read correctly or plausibly (in the case of the pseudo words). In 2017, 81% of the children reached or exceeded the benchmark - not 90% of the children as claimed in the article:

http://www.adelaidenow.com.au/news/sout ... 08c02eb11d

Oh - very frustrating, the article is hidden behind a paywall so you cannot reach it 'direct' via the link above- very sorry.

Suffice it to say that it is looking like the phonics pilot results in South Australia indicate that phonics teaching could do with being improved!
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Debbie_Hepplewhite
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Re: South Australia: Some results from phonics check trial

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IFERI members, Dr Jennifer Buckingham and Professor Kevin Wheldall write about the results of the trial of the phonics check in South Australia. This is a really important piece because the conclusions are clear that teachers in SA do not teach phonics as well as they think they do - but it is to the benefit of both teachers and their pupils that this information is used sensibly to improve phonics training, teaching and learning in Australia. This is a wake-up call that should be seen as nationally important for teachers' continuing professional development in order to raise levels of literacy in Australia:
South Australia’s trial of England’s year one phonics check shows why we need it
https://theconversation.com/south-austr ... d-it-94411
Many students have very low decoding ability after 18 months at school

The phonics check consists of 40 single words children read aloud to a teacher. There are 20 real words and 20 “pseudo words” — all of which can be read using phonic decoding. The pseudo words are included because they can’t be read from sight memory and are a purer test of phonics ability.

The headline data on student performance shows the majority of children in Reception (the first “foundation year” of school) and year one found the test items difficult. The average number of correctly read items was 11 out of 40 for Reception students and 22 out of 40 for year one.

Given the phonics check is designed for students in year one, it was expected Reception students would score low. This confirms the wisdom of the SA Department of Education and Child Development’s decision to expand the trial from the original design (Reception only) to include year one. But the year one performance was also low relative to their counterparts in England and the expectations of their teachers.

In England, student performance is reported against a “threshold score” of 32 out of 40. For the past two years, 81% of year one students in the UK achieved this score. Only 15% of children in the SA trial achieved at this level.
The SA trial of the year one phonics check has been an important initiative. The evaluation report will be a valuable guide to changes that need to be made for a state-wide implementation.

Even more significantly, the trial has provided strong support for implementation of the year one phonics check across Australia. Or, at the very least, for other states and territories to conduct similar trials. It supports the findings of the expert panel for the Australian government, and has validated the arguments of advocates that the phonics check gives teachers vital information about decoding skills not gained from other systemic assessments, and is neither burdensome for teachers nor stressful for students
.
Jennifer Buckingham and Kevin Wheldall provided independent advice to the South Australian government on the design of the trial of the Phonics Screening Check. They had no direct or indirect involvement in its implementation or evaluation.
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Debbie_Hepplewhite
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Re: South Australia: Some results from phonics check trial

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The pilot of the check is also important for other reasons including teachers' feedback regarding the responses of their students:
Students liked it

Teachers and leaders in the trial reported all students responded positively, including struggling readers, and they were engaged and interested. There were no reports of anxiety or stress for students. Teachers “universally” commented that students “loved the one-to-one time with the teacher”.
This is in great contrast to the level of fear mongering of some critics of the advent of a check that a phonics check will stress children and put too much pressure on them.

Surely when it comes to levels of stress, children left behind unable to decode and to read well are far more likely to experience both short term and long term stress - as ability to read well is a life chance issue.

It is essential that teachers are trained well and children are taught well - in systematic phonics provision.
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Debbie_Hepplewhite
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Re: South Australia: Results from the phonics check trial

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This previous thread provides information about detractors of the check and their worries and illustrates how hard Dr Jennifer Buckingham has worked to get transparent information across to other people:

http://www.iferi.org/iferi_forum/viewto ... ?f=2&t=894
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Debbie_Hepplewhite
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Re: South Australia: Results from the phonics check trial

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IFERI member Professor Pamela Snow has also worked hard to debunk myths and misunderstandings about phonics in Australia:

http://www.iferi.org/iferi_forum/viewto ... 1890#p1890
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Debbie_Hepplewhite
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Re: South Australia: Results from the phonics check trial

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Dr Jennifer Buckingham writes yet another very clear piece about the implementation of a phonics check in Australia:

Phonics test for year-one kids offers lots of benefits and no downside

http://www.afr.com/news/policy/educatio ... 406-h0yg0t
The SA trial sits atop a large pile of evidence showing that poor phonics instruction is a contributor to the large number of children who struggle to achieve even basic levels of reading ability. The year-one phonics check is an efficient way to identify the extent and the nature of the problem.

Other states and territories have only two defensible options. They can ignore detractors, accept the evidence, and agree to implement the year-one phonics check; or run a trial and see the evidence for themselves. The risk is zero and the benefits are huge.
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Re: South Australia: Results from the phonics check trial

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In The Advertiser:

http://www.adelaidenow.com.au/news/sout ... 969ddb4713
Statewide phonics test for Year 1 students at South Australian government schools

Paul W. Purcell
This is the most commonly reported reason for the check - in effect, to find out how individual children can decode words:
The aim is to see if they understand the sounds made by letter combinations rather than just memorising spelling.
But, this is the most valuable part of an objective universal phonics screening check - informing teachers how effectively they are teaching phonics compared to other teachers - that it, teachers no longer able to consider that they are already teaching phonics well (a reality check):
“A number reported being surprised at the outcomes of the check — with more students failing to successfully sound out all of the words than had been expected.”
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